OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, March 30 (IslamOnlin.net & News Agencies) - At least 30 Israelis were injured Sunday, March 30, at 1 pm (Tel Aviv local time) when a Palestinian resistance fighter carried out a new bombing operation, blowing himself up outside a cafe in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic Jihad, identifying the bomber as a 20-year-old student from the Tulkarem area of the West Bank, just 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Netanya, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

One of the injured, a man who tried to tackle the bomber as he headed for the London cafe, was in critical condition. Five others were listed as serious.

The bomber detonated an explosive charge packed with nails that he was carrying at the entrance to the cafe, where four soldiers were standing, witnesses said.

The blast blew out the window of the cafe but failed to cause more damage after the presence of security officials, either the soldiers or a private guard, apparently prevented him from entering the building, they added.

Shortly before the blast the head of military intelligence, General Aharon Zeevi, had warned ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting of the heightened risk of bombings by Palestinian resistance groups in protest at the U.S.-led aggression against Iraq, public radio said.

After the attack, Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz held a security meeting to probe a possible retaliatory action against the Palestinians, said the public radio.

The last attack in Netanya took place in the city market on May 19 last year, in which two people were killed and 56 wounded.

In another related development, Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian spotted with seven others in a closed military zone near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. Four of the men were arrested and three escaped, military sources said.

A pair of binoculars and several mobile phones were found with the men. Israeli military sources said they suspected them of plotting attacks on army or settler convoys using a closed road leading to Israel.

Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erakat said that the Authority "condemns any attack on civilians, Palestinians or Israelis."

He also rejected frequent Israeli claims that the Palestinian Authority is to blame for the attacks for failing to crack down on resistance groups.

He called for the immediate implementation of a peace plan drawn up by top E.U., Russian, U.N., and U.S. officials which envisages the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005.

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, said the Natanya blast is an indication that resistance to Israeli occupation continue and Palestinian fighters are able to enter deep into Israeli areas.

“We are ready to face whatever aggression, and any attempts to end or minimized the Intifada is unacceptable,” Al-Zahar said.

“The program of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation proved a success, and Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation also worked out,” he added.

The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that its first unit of bombers had arrived in Baghdad to join the struggle against invading U.S.-led forces.

The statement said they would be fighting alongside Arab volunteers against "the new Mongols that are invading the capital of the Islamic caliphate," in a reference to the 13th century sacking of Baghdad.

“Any Israeli attempt to escalate its aggression against Palestinian people would negatively be reflected on the Israelis and Americans,” Al-Zahar warned.